VBT Board votes 6-1 to seek 6.5 mills for public safety

The Van Buren Township Board of Trustees approved, on a 6-1 vote, putting a 6.5 mill public safety question before voters at the Nov. 3 election.
It would run for 7 years and first be levied Dec. 1, 2017. It is expected to bring in $6,478,215 when it is first levied.
Supervisor Linda Combs said it would cost $125 more per year than the present millage for a home with $100,000 sales value (taxable value of $50,000).
The 6.5 mills would equal $6.50 per $1,000 taxable value of a property, or $325 for the property with a sales value of $100,000 and a taxable value of $50,000.
This is 2.5 mills more than the present 4-mill public safety millage which is expiring Dec. 31, 2016.
Trustee Brenda McClanahan cast the only no vote, explaining that the Van Buren Public Schools recently had a survey that showed voters in this area were not interested in higher taxes. As a result of the survey report the school board reduced its sinking fund renewal request from 1.13 mills to .5 mill, she said.
Trustee McClanahan, a former member of the school board, said the survey information was applicable to the public safety millage.
Trustee Jeff Jahr made the motion to approve putting the 6.5 mills question on the ballot and Clerk Leon Wright seconded the motion that passed 6-1.
Clerk Leon Wright made a statement on how the increase needs to be put before voters because having the extra 2.5 mills would reduce the amount transferred annually from the landfill fund to pay for public safety.
He said the future growth foreseen will bring more requests for public safety services.
Clerk Wright said he always votes for progress and he voted for the new high school, the school sinking fund, and for the new library.
“We can’t be a premier community” without getting more funds, Wright said, adding the board members should not be afraid to put out issues that “our community needs.”
“I read the report, too,” Wright said of the school survey. “Van Buren Public Schools needs to share its information better with its constituents.”
He said paying so much for public safety is a huge burden to put on the general fund.
“We pay Escort taxes with Cadillac returns,” he said of the low taxes and high services. He said he wants to put the question before voters to see what they say.
Trustee Jahr said, “We want to provide the highest level of services.” He said in VBT people pick up the phone and get help right away. “People feel safe in this community.”
Trustee Phil Hart said he agrees 100% with Wright and Jahr.
“We’ve been struggling for three years, not laying anyone off, and going into reserves,” Trustee Hart said, adding the township is climbing out of the recession.
“Now, we have to ask the public for its support,” Hart said. “We’re not forcing anything on anybody. We’ll put it on the ballot and go from there.
“We’re not promising anything but the level of service we now provide,” Hart said.
Supervisor Combs said she wanted to say that when former Supervisor Paul White called this increased millage a “bait and switch” that was untrue.
“VBT is facing a definite liability,” Combs said.
Treasurer Sharry Budd said the public safety budget is $7.7 million and they are only taking in $3.4 million with the present 4 mills.
She said the general fund is reaching into the landfill fund, but the landfill will not be there in years to come. She said the auditors have told the township it has to come in line with what it’s spending.
“If the residents say no, there will have to be severe changes,” Treasurer Budd said.
“It’s not easy to ask the residents for money,” Hart said, noting the elected officials have to do whatever they feel is the right thing.
In other business at the July 21 meeting, the board:
• During the public comment on agenda items, which is allowed only before the board considers agenda items, heard Paul White and Carl McClanahan say they are in favor of putting the renewal of 4 mills on the ballot for public safety because they believe it is inappropriate at this time to ask for more money from voters;
• Removed from the agenda the reappointment of Leonard Armstrong to the Local Development Finance Authority. Supervisor Combs said the reappointment was “postponed”;
• Approved the appointment of Danylo Dobriansky, asset manager of Sovereign Partners, to the LDFA with a term to expire Aug. 12, 2019. Dobriansky works in New York and will fly to VBT for the bi-monthly meetings;
• Approved a resolution stating the 2015 tax rate request of .9144 allocated millage and 4 mills public safety for 4.9144 mills total. The township’s real and personal property taxable value is $979,565,524 and so the tax would amount to $4,813,977;
• Approved the Senior Alliance 2016 Annual Implementation plan for Aging Services;
• Approved the Ypsilanti Community Utilities Authority’s amended wastewater disposal agreement for American Waste Technologies and the Western Townships Utilities Authorities. This addresses the applicant’s request to increase the volume of discharge from 25,000 gpd to 30,000 gpd. AWT is located both in VBT and Canton, but provides wastewater services solely to Canton;
• Approved the special land use request by Tim Donut U.S. Limited, Inc. for outdoor upgrades to the Tim Horton’s drive-through restaurant at 2141 Rawsonville Road;
• Heard Lianne Clair, executive assistant to the supervisor, report on an open house concerning the Wolverine Pipeline’s plan to install an identical pipeline next to the one that already goes through VBT, which needs 30’ more feet of right of way. It will go next to the route through the township that has been in place for 50 years and will go through the Lower Huron Metropark and under the Huron River on its route from Freedom Township in Washtenaw County to Romulus;
• Heard Supervisor Combs read a letter from Belleville Police Chief Al Berriman thanking VBT Public Safety Department for sending Officer Alex Schultz to assist a Belleville officer and Reserve on June 12. The Belleville officers pulled over a man for a traffic stop who was 6’2” and 300+ pounds. Officer Schultz helped them arrest the man who was wanted from Washtenaw County on a no-bond charge of fleeing and eluding and resisting arrest;
• Heard Mrs. Michigan America Shaylett Stuckey, a 15-year resident of VBT, ask what she could do to get a sign up where Belleville turns into VBT to say, “Home of Mrs. Michigan America.” Trustee Jeff Jahr made a formal request for Supervisor Combs to look into this and ask for county permission to erect the roadside sign;
• Heard Edward Wilkerson of Country Walk III dispute the claims of support of Country Walk III and IV residents for the agreement recently signed by the township with Blue Country Walk LLC. Wilkerson said, “I don’t think any of them are in charge,” of those professing to be in charge of the two homeowners association. “They said they had backing of 82, and I don’t think they had two.” He said 45 parcels are delinquent in paying their association dues in Country Walk III, so they can’t vote. He said he found out about the agreement “in this little paper,” holding up the Independent. Wilkerson said he served on the Romulus Board of Education for 12 years and Country Walk III hasn’t had an election in four years and Country Walk IV has yet to have an election. He said he also served in the 101st Airborne Division in Vietnam and has a Purple Heart and other military awards. He said, “Five people think they’re running the show and there are no bylaws.” Country Walk III’s annual meeting May 12 couldn’t be held officially because there was not a quorum;
• Heard Reg Ion say not everyone can afford a millage. He also told of his dog getting hold of a loose cat and his dog’s nose getting torn up. He said according to the ordinance officer, there isn’t anything that can be done about cats. Also, Waste Management needs better signage so people will put cardboard, steel, and tires in the proper bins at the dump. Also, he asked who listed the Grandpa’s Toys house that the DDA just bought. “I would move out of the township if somebody bought my house,” he said; and
• Heard Trustee Hart urge Supervisor Combs to get the budget process started. Combs called her assistant Clair up to the microphone to ask if any dates had been set up yet for budget talks and Clair said there haven’t. She also said she has limited hours to address all the issues assigned to her.

15 Comments

Linda Combs, put down the Facebook and Crime Scene games and start making some severe changes. There is a huge scam going on inside both PD and FD. They are racking in the dough and don’t even have to be on the job. Fire Chief gets paid to work at Van Buren however, he teaches at Schoolcraft college during daytime hours. Not only are we paying him to be there he is not available for business. I find this sickening. Everyone knows about the highest paid officer being paid to not be at either PD or FD. Then you have the PS Director who also uses his department issued vehicle to get groceries or run errands. So, you have all this and then some going on, yet the board has the audacity to ask the tax payers for MORE MONEY. You need to show that you have been diligent and frugal with spending before you stick your hands out and beg for more. We know this isn’t a complete solution, but it is a start. The township board is just as bad as the panhandlers who scam on the the I-94 off ramps in the township.
I’m jumping off this sinking ship.

The residents of Van Buren Township will vote down the request for more money as we do not trust this administration. Three current board members allowed the Visteon debacle and those 3 should be voted out of office. If we vote yes for more money for Public Safety within a few years we might be forced to pay for the Visteon mistake.

I am also voting no. We were promised certain things when voting on the 4 mils for the last Public Safety increase and never got it. As a victim of a crime 2 years ago, I would expect that I get a statement or a report or just some kind of communication that it was being worked on. I understand that this is a busy department, but when I call repeatedly and get the runaround, I get frustrated. When I read in the paper that we have officers abusing the take home car policy and leaving shift to do personal business or secondary jobs it infuriates me. I can’t wait until they are out there trying to campaign for our votes, that is when I ask them point blank and watch them squirm.

No one can convince me to vote yes. I’m strapped inside my budget and even though $250 more per year doesn’t sound like much it does to me. I pay my bills and make an honest living. I’m trying to save for retirement and my children college fund. I have also been following the actions of the public safety department and I don’t have a good feeling that some of them are earning an honest wage. I don’t want give up my retirement and college fund for any type of corruption. It makes me sad that I even question the integrity of our law enforcement. It does not seem right that several officers make more than officers in any other city in the state and ask for more money. In my heart I feel like I’m being swindled.

Trustee Jahr, please do not speak for me. I can tell you right now I do not feel safer now than I did a few years ago. I remember a day when we were promised a 5 beat system, what happened to that? What happened to the police presence on the lake? I would feel safe if we had good leaders who make decision based on the needs of the residents.

And Mrs. S. Budd the only severe changes we need to make is getting you out of office! You have been in hiding to long and many of us know you were a leader in the public attack of P. White when he was in office. You disgust me.

VBT residents it’s time we wake up. If memory serves me there was a chief that was ran out by Champagne/king because he was bringing up all of this crap of the officers being paid to much and it killing the budget. Not to mention how the money on the mill age back then wasn’t being spent in a lawful manner if what was promised to us citizens!!! Now one must examine and look closely at who’s left. Bud, Jahr and hart…they came out unscathed in every scandal because they weren’t the top dogs but believe me they were knee deep in all the doo-doo!! So we must ask ourselves, we got rid of many we felt were the problem yet we are still having the same problems, why? Because your voting for the same 3 that hid. You also just lost one if your best and finest firemen for him blowing the whistle on our PSD, the crook officer Floro and our wannabe fire chief who was told for years he wasn’t qualified for the job but, got it as no one else wants to work with VBT so I guess we got stuck with the wannabe. Time to fully clean hose and also vote NO on mileage to send a loud and clear message.

Even for those who can afford a tax increase still want to vote no because there is no plan for what they want to use the extra dollars towards. This is an attempt to put money back into a sinking fund because they have no plan to control spending. It’s a piece of gum on a leak and I want no part of it. Sharry Budd you WILL have to make some severe changes, your threats fall on deaf ears. You should have made these “severe” changes years ago.

Some residents do not know the real S. Budd but WWJD said she has been in hiding too long and this is true; she’s been working behind the scenes and was most certainly a leader in the public attack against P. White which includes encouraging township employees to be disloyal. This is disgusting behavior for anyone is a work force but even more so for an elected official. This was of course because Mr. White did not belong to her closed group and he had the audacity to win the election, it was not about the good things he wanted to accomplish for our township, for Mrs. Budd it was about getting back at him for winning. The fact that the residents wanted Mr. White mattered not at all to S. Budd, she didn’t want him so her personal vendetta was more important than being an adult and working with him for the betterment of our township. Mr. White knew he could not depend on her for assistance of any kind but she is sure willing to help Combs. The recall group that was so concerned about the township “falling apart” during White’s term is now completely absent so they must be content and satisfied with this current administration.

Well the recall group was influenced by Champagne, Budd and a few other groupies. Now they have egg on their face because the fact that the township is in far worse condition than long before White. It got bad with King and now with Combs, it has become a complete circus. I’m sure Visteon was glad to make a great deal with a bunch of benighted idiots we call the VBT Board. Lawsuits all over the place, corruption, scandals, violated policies that are useless.

I’m amazed that there are a few individuals who approve of the millage proposal just because they “support their public safety” department. I support public safety but I also support a frugal township board that has a plan in place to stop the bleeding. We will be the next Inskter and with any error that this board creates, they will just tax us and move on. Please think about the greater picture when you decide on voting for an increase. We must make this board act proactively. Once we have to pay off this Visteon Bond fiasco, that will be inserted onto the tax payers as well, promise you that.
I say the board eliminates the full time fire chief and full time fire inspector positions. I remember the day when that was in place and it was run smoothly. As much as I read of the corruption in the department anyway, this would fix the 2 bird problem there. Eliminate the blended rate employees from working in the fire department. Then move onto the Police Department. Lots of cuts can be made at the top. How about Linda Combs take a pay cut? Show us you are doing something first, then we the tax payers will do out part.

Whose plate is full? Is it Lianne Clair or Linda Combs plate? If Linda has a full plate maybe she should get off the sewing sites on the internet and stop playing on facebook all day. If Lianne has a full plate she could stop spewing hatred vile about her past relationship with a judge. She sounds so bitter.

This Board has a lot of nerve asking the taxpayers to pay for the mistake of the “King Team”. The Visteon project was turned down by Ypsilanti Township many years ago so they came to Van Buren and it was accepted by the King Team along with the full faith and credit of the township. Three “King Team” members are still on the Board and they want us to pay for their mistake. I agree with “amazed” that “cuts at the top” need to happen. Why do we have a full-time treasurer and a full- time deputy treasurer? Take a look at the treasurer salary at nearly $100,000. per year is this really justified when there is a full-time deputy?

$100K for Budd? That is ludicrous. I agree why does she need a deputy treasurer? most likely because she has no idea what she is doing and needs someone to guide her through the position. She needs to go. Out with the old I say.